Yume ga Yume Nara...
by Mippa
Summary: The sequel to Ano Toki. (Current status: incomplete.)
1. Chapter One

Yume Ga Yume Nara...  
**(If the Dream Was a Dream...)  
Part One**

By Mia Koji/Yagyu Nasuti

Clattering in the kitchen woke Anubis at ten o' clock in the morning. He didn't utter a sound as he opened his eyes. The mild sunlight shone through the window, and stirred the dust on the feudal Japanese armors lining the walls.

The man sat up, and looked around the room. The bedside table had a digital clock, by which Anubis first realized the late hour. He turned his head to look to the teenage girl sleeping beside him.

Mia Koji lay on her back, still sleeping through the ruckus. Her hands lightly rested on her slowly rising and falling breast.

Anubis put his feet on the floor,and slowly stood up from the bed. He straightened the linens of his garb, and walked past the foot of the bed.

"You sleep with your mouth open." Anubis spoke at Mia's beside.

Mia stirred, and moaned as she moved her arms. Opening her eyes (and closing her mouth. ^^;), she faced Anubis.

"Good morning." Anubis cordially greeted.

Mia blinked, not yet sitting up. "Anubis?"

"It sounds as if the child is up and about." Anubis looked towards the doorway.

Mia sat up in an instant,and put her feet on the floor. "Yuli?"

As if on que, clattering sounded again, and Mia stood. "That's from the kitchen...!"

Anubis watched Mia run past him into the hallway.


	2. Chapter Two

Yume Ga Yume Nara...  
**(If the Dream Was a Dream...)  
Part Two**

By Mia Koji/Yagyu Nasuti

"Ah!" Yuli jumped back from the stove, and shook his right hand, blowing on it.

"Yuli!" Mia ran into the kitchen, and protectively put her arms around the boy. She pulled him away. "Get away from there!"

"Mia!" Yuli sounded overjoyed to see his guardian of sorts awake. "I'm making you breakfast! See?!"

Mia let go of Yuli, and rushed to the stovetop. "You could start a fire, Yuli!"

"Naw, not me!" Yuli smiled proudly as Anubis walked into the doorway.

Mia took the handle of the frying pan, and rushed it over to a sink. The eggs inside the pan (shells and all) were smoking and charred. She frantically turned on the faucet, and the water hissed as it evaporated on the hot surface.

Mia coughed, and fanned away the smoke and steam. "Oh, Yuli...!"

"Is everything alright in here?" Anubis stood idle in the doorway, left with no choice but to watch the chaos in the kitchen.

Mia scraped off all of the burnt egg from the pan, and shut off the faucet. "Everything's just peachy here!!" she dried off the pan,and spun around to go back to the stove, when her left foot landed smack-dab on a broken raw egg. Surprised by this, Mia's foot slipped, but she caught her balance, but at the price of jamming her right heel into the cabinet below the sink.

Both Yuli and Anubis flinched as Mia's frying pan was dropped to the floor.

"Oh...!" Mia put her hands to her ears, and then threw them down. "Yuli..." she sighed.

"I'll clean it up! I promise!" Yuli pleaded.

Mia bent over just a bit to touch the bottom of her left foot. "...." she felt the slimy egg white and yolk between her fingers. "That won't be necessary. Go sit down, Yuli."

"But--!"

"Just for a moment, Yuli." Mia pulled off a paper towel, and dampened it. She wiped her foot clean, ignoring the throbbing in her right heel.

"Do as she says." Anubis kindly suggested.

Yuli looked behind him, and up to the warlord. He frowned, and put his arms behind his head casually. "I wasn't going to argue. Besides, I don't have to do as you say..." he walked over to the chair Mia sat in the night before. His short legs dangled off the edge cutely, as he swung them back and forth.

"Yuli, get out a big bowl for me..." Mia finished cleaning up the floor.

"Okay!" Yuli jumped at the chance of getting out of his seat. He opened a drawer, and got out a decent-sized glass bowl.

"Don't drop it!" Mia stood, smiling.

"I won't!" Yuli replied, putting it up on the dinette table.

Mia took her eyes off of Yuli, and turned them to Anubis.

Anubis straightened completely as they got eye-contact for the first time that morning.

Mia smiled at him. "Well, why are you standing there? Sit down, you're blocking the doorway!"

Anubis took a few steps inside. "Ah."

Mia walked over to the refrigerator. "You eat eggs, don'tcha?"

Anubis couldn't help but notice the skeptical look Yuli was giving him.

Mia closed the fridge door with her hip, and didn't wait for an answer. "Well, if not, you're outta luck, it's really all we have..."

Anubis sat down across from Yuli, and tried to avoid eye-contact with the boy.

"Scambled all right?" Mia asked, breaking open an egg into the bowl in front of Yuli. A nervous smile appeared on her face. "Oops. Guess I don't have a choice. Scrambled it is!"

"Ooh! Can I scramble it?!" Yuli begged.

"Sure." Mia smiled at Yuli, and handed him a wisk. "Stir it good!"

"All right!" Yuli got to work on scrambling the egg in the bowl.

"Okay. Let me start cooking your egg, and you can beat up mine." Mia took the bowl, and poured the egg into the skillet. She checked to make sure the fire was off, and brought the eggs to Yuli.

Anubis watched silently with a smile as Mia taught Yuli how to break an egg.

"See how I just tap it hard enough to crack it? Now get your thumbs and--no, no! Not all the way in! Just a bit, like this..."

Anubis chuckled quietly to himself at the sight of both of Yuli's thumbs swallowed up in the egg shell.

The two youths looked up to Anubis with wide eyes.

"What's so funny?" Yuli frowned,the egg beginning to drip through his thumbs.

Anubis tried to keep his laughter contained, but now Mia could clearly see that he was laughing at them.

"Hey!" Yuli proudly cried. "Cut it out!"

"Is this...this is what defines the mortal world?!" Anubis leaned over the table, in pieces over the scene.

Mia's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

Yuli was fuming by now.

Anubis was able to catch his breath. "I'm sorry...it's just...how foolish you look."

"Take that back!" Yuli snapped.

"Yuli!" Mia silenced the child. "He dind't mean anything by it." Mia gave Anubis a "look", and then looked back to Yuli. "Pull the shell apart."

"I know." Yuli pulled apart the shell, and the insides dropped into the bowl.

Mia broke open the one she held, and took both of the shells. "Okay, now beat them good!"

"Okay!" Yuli picked up the wisk next to the bowl, and began stirring.

Mia dropped the shells in the sink, and wiped her hands on a towel. She felt relieved that Yuli's attention was off Anubis. She grabbed a spatula, and turned on the fire beneath the skillet. She began to cook the eggs, and tried to think of what to start doing today. What was she working on the night before? Hmm...the night before...night before..bit by bit, her memories of last night were coming back to her. A numb feeling came over her as she remembered--**OMIGOSH**!


	3. Chapter Three

Yume Ga Yume Nara...  
**(If the Dream Was a Dream...)  
Part Three**

By Mia Koji/Yagyu Nasuti

At the table, Anubis watched Mia cook in silence. Yuli eyed Anubis apprehensively, with his brow furrowed and a threatening frown on his face.

"By the way you're looking at her, I assume she's your type." Yuli said in a low voice.

Anubis blinked, hearing what the boy said. His eyes shifted to the boy for a second, but then he looked back to Mia. In a much lower voice than Yuli, he replied. "You speak well for someone so young."

Yuli beat the eggs harder. "It's because I hang around people twice my age. I pick up a lot." He paused, and his eyes widened. "You're trying to change the subject, aren't you?!" the boy pointed at the man with his dripping wisk.

Mia called from the stove, "Yuli, get some plates."

"Okay!" Yuli dropped his wisk, and ran across the kitchen to get some plates. He ran back to the table, and set them out.

Mia walked over to the table, and scraped Yuli's eggs on a plate. "Here you go! Get some grapes out of the fridge quick, or your eggs'll get cold!"

Yuli ran across again, this time to the refigerator to get a bowl of grapes out. He sat back down at the table, and set the bowl in the middle of the table.

"Anubis." Mia turned to the man, and unintentionally got eye-contact with him before getting her question out.

"Hmm?" Anubis looked at Mia with a perfectly straight face.

"...." Mia froze in mid-sentence. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and her throat went dry.

Yuli put a forkful of eggs in his mouth with a huff, and looked at the two. He broke the silence. "This needs salt."

Mia blinked, and quickly looked away from Anubis. Her face went back to its normal shade, and her voice came back. "Right here!" she reached over to the middle of the table, and put it in front of Yuli. "Remember, you can always add more, but never take out!" she piped, taking the bowl in a rush. She dashed back to the stove, and poured in the eggs.

Anubis blinked, admittedly confused, "What is it you were going to ask me?"

"Huh?" Mia didn't turn around.

"You were going to ask me something." 

"I was?--oh! That's right!" Mia stirred the eggs in the skillet. She turned around, smiling. "How do you want your eggs?"

Anubis paused before answering, trying to read Mia's behavior, "...however you're having them is fine."

"Okay!" Mia turned back around. "I like mine really wet, so it'll just be sec!"

"...however you're having them is fine..." Yuli sneered below his breath.

Anubis looked to Yuli, who darkly glared at him from across the table.

"Yuli!" Mia rose her pitch a bit, to which Yuli flinched.

Yuli turned to Mia. "Huh?"

"Why didn't you get three plates? Anubis has to eat, too!"

Yuli folded his arms. "He's a grown man, he can feed himself!"

Mia sighed,and scraped the eggs onto her plate. "It's called 'manners', Yuli." Mia slid the plate in front of Anubis. "Sorry."

"It's nothing." Anubis smiled up at Mia, to which she didn't respond.

"He sure was polite all those times he captured up and faught the guys..." Yuli muttered, picking at his eggs.

"I heard that!" Mia called from the fridge. "No more Yuli. I mean it."

Yuli slumped in his chair.

_What is eating Yuli_? Mia wondered as she broke two more eggs in the bowl. She watched the boy sulk in his chair.

"Can I be excused?" Yuli droned.

"Yes. Go get dressed." Mia said, and watched the boy leave silently.

Both she and Anubis let out a relieved sigh. They looked to eachother, and chuckled.

"I'm really sorry. I don't know why he's acting so..." she apologized, but faded off.

"He misses Wildfire, no doubt." Anubis replied. "It's alright. It's understandable. He is just a boy."

Mia beat her eggs. "I'll talk to him after breakfast."

Silence followed Mia's words, which made her grow tense. She loved how Anubis could remain untroubled in even the most dire of situations, but at the same time, she hated it, because it resulted in her killing all possible conversations with him.

Not that she was _dying_ to speak to him.

Of course not.

Mia's violent beating of her eggs had captured the attention of Anubis. Mia's brow was stern and furrowed, and her lips were tightly pressed.

"I didn't realize it was ailing you so much." Anubis said.

Mia blinked, snapping out of her deep thought process. "Oh!" she gasped,and stopped her furious beating. "That's plenty beaten!" she rushed over to the stove, and began to cook. _I have got to stop acting so odd! Anubis will start suspecting something...!_ The scene of the kiss appeared in her mind again, and she blushed once more. _It felt so real...could it possibly...?_ She walked back to the table, and paused,looking for a plate. "Oh, right..." she walked over to a cabinet, and took a plate out. She walked back to the table, and sat herself down next to Anubis. She scraped her eggs onto her plate, and then set the pan on top of Yuli's plate.

Reaching for the salt, Mia stole a glance of the man next to her. He seemed to adjust well to a fork. Maybe she should've made him rice instead...

She shook on a dash of salt and pepper, and picked up a fork. She was about to dig in, when she realized she couldn't.

Her face was a little flushed, and her heart felt like it was about to jump right out of her chest!

_I...can't understand this!_ Mia glared at her eggs. _Why am I reacting to this dream like this?!_ She once again glanced to Anubis. _It **had** to have been a dream...or else...or else--why isn't he reacting at all--if it really happened?!_

Anubis looked to Mia, who was still staring at him.

Mia stiffened up a bit, and smiled nervously. She turned back to her eggs. _Idiot_. _Start eating._ She dug her fork into the eggs, and finally ate a bite.

"Still tired?" Anubis asked.

"Mmh." Mia swallowed. "A bit groggy. A shower will fix that." Hoping to avoid silence, she reciprocated. "What about you?"

"I'm quite alert." Anubis went back to his eggs. "I sense that we'll accomplish something crucial soon."

Mia nodded, keeping her eyes on her eggs. "I hope you're right, Anubis."

Anubis looked back to Mia. Her hopeless tone of voice grabbed his attention.

Mia heard the clanging of Anubis's fork on his plate, and quickly following it, she felt herself being pulled close to him.

Mia felt Anubis's arm around her shoulders. Her head was softly resting against his chest.

"Stay strong, Mia." Anubis encouragingly squeezed her shoulder.

Mia stared at Anubis's knees. She was blushing again. She heard his soft heartbeat, as it beat in sync with her own. _Why?!_ _He's making this impossible to bear! _She wanted to put her arms around his waist, but she was horrified. _If it wasn't a dream...why won't he kiss me again?!_

She pulled away. _It must've been a dream. He's just being protective._ "I'll clean the dishes after my shower." She stood up, and left Anubis alone in the kitchen.


	4. Chapter Four

Yume Ga Yume Nara...  
**(If the Dream Was a Dream...)  
Part Four**

By Mia Koji/Yagyu Nasuti

"Yuck!" Mia grimaced as she critically beheld her reflection, "Who'd want to kiss something so hideous?!"

Indeed, her appearance was less-than-appealing. Her bangs--dull from not being washed--clung to her forehead, while the hair that was supposed to frame her face was going crazy around her shoulders. Her cheeks and nose shone, and her skin's tone seemed extremely uneven.

Feeling a great sense of loss and humiliation, Mia started the shower. She pulled off her nightshirt, and stepped out of her panties. She stepped into the shower, not taking heed to the fact she turned the spout all the way to hot.

The scalding water certainly woke her up. She yelped, and jumped out of the water's line of fire. She reached over to adjust the temperature, her back still tingling from the burn. Her sudden jerk out of the way triggered a twinge of pain from her pulled muscle in her back as well. _I've got to be more careful! _She scolded herself as she stuck her head under the running water.

Anubis heard the water running--for a rather long time--he realized as he was walking down the hallway leading to the shower.

The ex-warlord tried not to smile when he saw Yuli sitting against the bathroom door with a comic book in front of him.

Yuli looked up to see Anubis approaching him.

"Been here awhile, young man?" Anubis asked.

"Not really." Yuli went back to his comic.

"She's taking her precious time in there, don't you think?"

"I'm sure Mia's fine." Yuli said without looking up. "She doesn't _need_ your protection."

"Even so, I'm sure she wants it, boy." Anubis replied.

Yuli looked back up to Anubis, and the elder of the two walked on.

"You don't know anything about Mia so stop acting like you do!" Yuli stood.

Anubis let the boy's rebuke roll off his back. This only infuriated Yuli more.

Mia heard everything on the other side of the door. She sat outside of the tub, hugging her knees. Her terry-cloth towel draped limply over her shoulders, catching the water dripping from her soaked hair.

_What do I do about Yuli...?_ she pondered. Tiny beads of water clung onto her skin. They soon fell off as she moved to stand. _We can't get anything accomplished with them at odds with each other..._

Yuli and Mia were both startled when the door vanished from behind Yuli, and he fell back at Mia's feet.

Mia held the door open, and looked down at Yuli. "Yuli!" she gasped.

Yuli blushed, and rushed up. "Careful!" he scolded, frowning. "Don't you know Anubis could've been out here?!"

Mia tugged her towel tighter around her body at the thought. "You being out here isn't much better, you know."

"Get back in there, Mia!" Yuli urged Mia back into the bathroom.

Mia had to laugh. "Since when did you start taking care of me?"

"Since Ryo isn't here to." Yuli closed the door. "Now stay here until I come back with some clothes, okay?"

Mia had to draw the line there. She wasn't keen on the thought of little Yuli digging through her things. She opened the door, and snuck through the hallway.

As she tiptoed past the living room, she peered in to see Anubis studying the feudal armors against the walls. She let out a silent sigh of relief, and slipped past. Good thing she wouldn't have to have an unexpected encounter with him in the middle of the hallway.

She went to her bedroom as quickly as she could without making any noise.

Yuli was already going through her closet. She made a mad dash for him before he could make any messes.

"Yuli, I don't need you to dress me." Mia took one of her blouses.

"Mia...!" Yuli whined (or was it supposed to be a scolding?).

"You can come back in once I'm dressed." Mia pushed Yuli out, and slammed the door behind her.

Mia held her forehead, and sighed. She threw herself on her bed, and closed her eyes for a moment. _Think..._

She didn't move for a few minutes. She finally turned onto her back, and undid her towel. She walked over to her closet, and looked at her clothes. She looked across the room to see her pink cardigan and navy linen shorts. It seemed to be the most...resourceful outfit. She could go another day wearing it. It was easy to move in, if anything.

After fully dressing herself (except, of course, for shoes), she opened the door to see Yuli once again at her feet.

Mia smiled nervously. "You can come in now."

Yuli sat himself on Mia's unmade bed (in which he slept in just the night before).

"Yuli, this has to stop." Mia used her towel to dry her hair a bit more. "Anubis doesn't deserve to be treated like how you treated him at breakfast. I don't care what he's done in his past." Mia paused to look at Yuli. "He's here to help us, understand that."

"I'm only trying to protect you until Ryo gets back!" Yuli argued.

"Don't you see, Yuli?!" Mia rose her voice with an exasperated tone. "The longer you act like this, the longer it'll take for Ryo and the others to get back!" Mia noticed how angry she sounded, and stopped abruptly to look at Yuli. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound angry with you."

Yuli was furiously glaring at Mia, tears brimming his eyes.

"Oh, Yuli..." Mia breathed, lowering her towel.

Yuli didn't cry. He jumped off of the bed, and ran past Mia into the hallway.

"Yuli!" Mia called out in vain to bring the boy back. "Great." She sighed. She turned to face her reflection in the mirror hung next to her door. "Now what?"


	5. Chapter Five

Yume Ga Yume Nara...  
**(If the Dream Was a Dream...)  
Part Five**

By Mia Koji/Yagyu Nasuti

"Is something wrong?" Anubis noticed Mia collapse in her computer chair.

"Am I that readable?" was Mia's reply. She didn't remove her eyes from the screen.

Anubis found the lack of acknowledgement discouraging, and he turned from the feudal armors tot he teenaged girl who held his attention. "Is it the boy?"

"His name is Yuli." Mia snapped, and tore her gaze away from her computer.

Anubis's brow furrowed, and he frowned. 

Mia's face softened, and she turned back to the screen. "I guess I am that readable." She buried her face in her hands, and sighed. She began to rub her eyes. "I wish Kento was here to handle Yuli..."

Anubis gripped his staff, and walked up behind Mia. "I am certain Hardrock would rather be here as well."

Mia lifted her face away from her hands, and she looked up to Anubis with a perplexed expression. "Are you trying to rub it in?" She rose her tone. "I _know_ that my friends are worse off! I don't need you to make this more stressful than it already is!"

"I am simply urging you to redirect your energies." Anubis seemed to be restraining his frustration.

Mia turned back to her computer screen once again, and rested one hand on the keyboard. 

"I know it's hard in times like this, but we have to go by faith." Anubis's voice remained in its usual calm tone.

Mia sighed, and her shoulders dropped. "I wish I were like you, Anubis. Always able to think clearly through these situations."

Anubis bent his knees, and crouched down next to Mia to look up to her.

Mia looked down to him, her eyes curious as to what he was about to do.

Anubis's face was straight and serious. "What are you afraid of?"

Mia stared at Anubis. She furrowed her brow, and pressed her lips together. Her eyes began to sting. She felt so ashamed! She was so weak, so immature! She didn't want to admit her fears to Anubis...he already had so much to think about! She was seventeen! She should be able to take _some_ responsibility for herself! She broke her stare away from Anubis, too ashamed to look at him in the face.

"It's alright." Anubis rested a hand on Mia's knee.

Mia looked to Anubis, and her tears overflowed. "I don't want anyone else to die!" She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, in the manner of a little girl.

Anubis's face went blank. Mia lowered her head, and cried. She covered her eyes with her hands.

Anubis stood, and rested the staff against the table. He bent down again, and put his arms around Mia. "I'm sorry."

Mia pulled away, and directed her focus on the computer. "No one else can die." She mumbled, and focused on the screen.

Anubis stood there still, his arms still raised a bit. He lowered them, and stood behind Mia, looking over her shoulder.

The sun was hidden behind the pale grey clouds. The two heard a soft rumbling outside.

Mia turned in her seat, and faced the window. "Please say that wasn't thunder."

"It smells like rain." Anubis held his staff.

Mia turned back around, and continued to type. "We'll just have to make the most of our time."


	6. Chapter Six

Yume Ga Yume Nara...  
**(If the Dream Was a Dream...)  
Part Six**

By Mia Koji/Yagyu Nasuti

"What?! H-hey! The power's out!"

The lights had just flickered out in the Koji estate.

"The lightning storm must be getting worse." Anubis replied to Mia's statement.

Mia stood up from her stool, and heaved a frustrated sigh. "What a perfect time for nature to turn her back on us!" She tossed her hair oer her shoulder, and folded her arms. She scornfully looked over to the computer, and to Anubis's surprise, she began to talk to it.

"Oh, well! You were little help to me, anyway! Serves you right!" she bent over, and spoke straight into the screen. "I hope you're happy!"

Anubis looked on with a face that was nothing short of perplexed. "Does that device of yours actually hear you?"

Mia almost fell forward into the computer screen at that comment. Even if he _was_ a few centuries old, his ignorance certainly clashed with his wisdom!

But, gol-lee, does he age well...

That random thought took Mia herself by surprise. Thank goodness she didn't say _that_ out loud.

Suddenly, common sense kicked in again. (Gotta love that reality!) She stood, and walked over to a phone. She took out a phone book, and turned to the electrician's number. She dialed the phone number, and waited for an answer.

Anubis watched Mia twist the cord around her finger. "Yes. I'm calling to report a power outage--oh? Oh, dear." 

Anubis heard only one part of the conversation as Mia paced a small area slowly. "Yes. Certainly. Thank you." Mia hung up. "How odd."

"What is it, Mia?" Anubis asked as she sat back down. 

"It seems that over half of Tokyo is down. It's not the storm causing it." Mia reached behind the computer to turn off the main switch.

"It must be turbulence from the Dynasty." Anubis turned to the window to watch the heavy rain run down the glass. "There is much unrest on the other side of the battle."

Mia shifted in her seat. "Mm..." she turned, and looked at Anubis. "Do you think the guys are alright?"

There was a pause. The rain pured heavily on the roof, making a rolling hum in the room.

Lightning flashed, and Anubis looked to Mia over his shoulder. "I don't know, Mia."

Thunder soon followed. Her eyes lowered. "I see." She stood from her chair, and took Anubis's arm. "Come with me, please. To the basement. I need your strength." 

She tugged his arma bit, and squeezed it. She didn't get eyecontact with Anubis, and he noticed.

"What do you mean?" the man inquired.

"You'll see."


End file.
